Mark it down; Georgia will beat Hawaii by 100 points tomorrow.
OK, I'm being sarcastic, but since over-the-top statements are all the rage for the national media, I figured I'd try it out. That said, the University of Georgia will not struggle to beat the University of Hawaii on New Year's Day in the Sugar Bowl -- despite what some pundits at ESPN insist.
True, Hawaii possesses one of the most explosive offenses in college football -- led by a quarterback and four wide receivers that could all wind up playing on Sundays. It also employs a system that Georgia has not seen all season -- and may never see again.
It won't matter.
What does matter is that the Bulldogs are by far the best team that Hawaii has played.
The Warriors' bested just two foes this season with a winning record, Boise State and Nevada. And both of those teams were defeated in their bowl games. (For the record, Hawaii's opponents were a combined 53-94 this season.)
By the way, I understand that Hawaii has a hard time scheduling tough out-of-conference opponents. And it's not their fault. After all, what traditional power would want to travel all the way to Honolulu to face a very decent team running an unorthodox offense? The travel alone would cost a team two weeks' worth of preparation. And if a power were to lose at Hawaii, it would get slaughtered in the polls.
Yet that is no reason to believe that, given the chance, the Warriors belong amongst the powers of college football.
It shouldn't surprise anyone, however, that the national media has gotten carried away with the gunslinging Warriors and their sexy offense. Gaudy stats and touchdowns are what catch the eye, and they look good on paper. They also make for great ratings.
What they don't do, is hold up against good defenses.
Now, the Bulldogs' defense is not one of the all-timers, but it is a very competent unit that has been made even better by the emergence of freshman linebacker Rennie Curran. And, while you can expect Hawaii to gain yards and even put up points, the Warriors will not score at will against Georgia.
The Bulldogs will be far more physical than any team than Hawaii has faced this season -- so far, the benchmark is Boise State -- and will ensure that the Warriors fight for every yard they get.
And that assumes that Hawaii's offense even gets the ball.
Georgia's best defense might be a ball-control offense, led by running backs Knowshon Moreno and Thomas Brown. And though Hawaii's defense is improved this season, they have yet to face a running attack like Georgia's.
I understand that this is a bowl game, essentially an exhibition. And that in a one-game situation, anything is possible. Hawaii certainly has talent and the motivation to prove they belong.
Yet Georgia also has talent and much more of it. The Bulldogs also have motivation of two kinds:
-- Fear: coaches need only remind players of Georgia's 2005 Sugar Bowl loss to supposedly weaker West Virginia and Boise State's upset over Oklahoma in last year's Fiesta Bowl.
And
-- Desire: the Bulldogs want to prove that they belong in this year's BCS championship game after getting leapfrogged by several teams in the BCS rankings.
Those two factors, along with Georgia's superior talent, should be more than enough to hold off any upsets on New Year's Day.
Friday
May 16th, 2025
5:04AM
